creative expression and imaginative exploration

Tag Archives: water

I have been enjoying taking photos each day as I move throughout my day. Recently I visited Vancouver Island and so you will be seeing some beach photos. This photo I took looking at the water directly below me. I was searching tide pools for anemones; maybe it’s the wrong time of year…
I was surprised when I looked at the photo to see that it looked more like a picture you might see that was taken from an airplane not one of the water.

We paddled 175km over nine days in northern Saskatchewan, sharing food, laughter, mosquitoes, and tons of fun with friends to inspire the following poem 🙂

I wait on a beach in Northern Saskatchewan
for aurora borealis to arrive.
My friends, modern nomads, tuck in
to yellow, blue, orange and green domes.
Sandstone hills and evergreen trees rise
above marshy grass.
Beneath a still surface
river current slides north toward Arctic,
mirror images of its shoreline
reaching for heaven.
Night hawks shoot skyward
torpedo down
wings bugling a haunting tune.
Therma-rests rustle
mosquitoes attack my ears
the world settles into a bedtime routine.
I think about waking up the others
with bear bangers on the beach.

La Spezia is a lovely port city we used as a base to explore the historic Cinque Terre villages. We have been experiencing temperatures in the 30’s C so we chose to visit the villages by water rather than hiking. We literally got a “taste” of each as we motored from one to the next and had a beer, then gelato, then lunch, etc. Great fun😄

Metallic tang of well water
dipped from pail on counter
smacks of earthiness and strength
necessary to draw it forth
to sustain others
How many pails have you hauled in your lifetime?
Buckets balanced in each hand
scales of impartiality measuring judgment in your mind?
Sloshing, spilling despite effort to save each precious drop
Water for washing, drinking, cooking
lever pulled and pushed
pumped up and down
brought back and forth
dogs nip at heels
white geese with orange beaks
honk indignantly as you cross their path
oblivious to your resentment with this plodding, repetitious task

Sweat on brow
hard working hands
calloused, hardened from toil in
garden and field
yet soft and welcoming
ready to lift and embrace
a teary tot or boisterous child

Mother Goose apron
fashioned from flour and potato sacks
full of seeds
or hand picked eggs
fresh from chicken coop nest
warm to touch
fodder for family meals
base of nutrition

Surrounded by relatives
Baba quietly goes about her business
stirring pots and pans
on wood burning stove
As she listens to conversations
raucous children
scurry about like
field mice underfoot
dart here and there
rustle her skirts
swishing movement
as little hands grab food
off the table
before dashing back outside
wooden door swinging in their wake

She patches clothes
sews patterns
in a mud chinked room
lit by kerosene lamp
electricity a luxury that she did not enjoy
until late in her life;
labours long after dark
heavy breathing, soft snores of family
nocturnal accompaniments
for this tiresome composition she is
performing

Ukrainian accent held in check
broken English strange on the tip
of her Slavic tongue
hair held in check
by her dark babushka
sombre color
an echo of her
dispirited mood
stray locks of hair
attempting freedom
are pushed back
with weary hands

Her family grows
one by one leaving her behind
to pump water
and knead bread

(The water rushes out of the shower head and cascades over my sleepy body. I indulge in a few more minutes of closing my eyes before I have to snap to attention and fully wake up. The coffee pot gurgles with the push of a button as water mixes with the ground beans to produce the daily stimulant. I look out the window at the river flowing swiftly through the city, reminded of how fortunate we are to have such an abundance of a resource; so easily taken for granted. My car splashes through puddles laying on the roadway and I make a mental note that I have to wash it again – more water.
Today seems appropriate that water is on my mind. Earth day. A day to celebrate the bounty of our world, to be grateful for where we live and to reflect on those who suffer drought and shortage of food. Water is available to us at the flip of a lever or tap. Others have to walk miles to wait in line for a chance to fill containers to lug back home. And the water they receive may not be clean…)

Earth day
birthday
happy celebrate your worth day

Earth, fire, water and air
we are grateful for the resources
that always seem to be there

The earth at its finest
when rich dark loam
provides a place to grow food
both far away and at home

The air we breathe
allows our bodies to function
it is so taken for granted
people feel no compunction (polluting it)

Fire is the center
the molten core
it holds earth’s secrets
which scientists and oilmen search for

And then there is water
sweet and cool
quenching, satisfying
aqua blue

Water for bathing
cooking too
it’s at our fingertips
easily available to me and you